


I love you ('til we're black and we're blue)

by jakepurralta



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy's family, Established Relationship, F/M, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 00:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4119895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakepurralta/pseuds/jakepurralta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set two years after their first date, Amy goes away for an undercover operation and Jake and Amy find themselves miles apart from each other for the first time since they started dating. They both struggle with the nights they're forced to spend alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not forgetting about my WIP fics, I swear. If I don't get to them soon, I will after my exam week. Unless I fail my exams, in which case, I will be needing some time to grieve. The biggest part of this story has been written already, so I might be able to post it soon. It's based on the gorgeous song Black & Blue by Carter Hulsey. Please check it out. It might make an appearance later. Also, I realize I should stick to names if I'm gonna use Amy's family all the name. Eh, that's a worry for later.

Jake woke up finding himself alone in his bed, much like all the other nights before. His body was sprawled all over the bed in an attempt to avoid the searing pain in his abdomen. It couldn’t compare his empty chest, though. He closed his eyes and swept his hand over his tired face.

It’s been over two thousand hours since he’s last seen Amy. _Not that I’ve been counting._

He sucked in a deep breath and grunted through the sharp pain that instantly shot through his lower body, clearly protesting against any sort of movement. _Who am I kidding? I have been counting. I miss the crap out of her. I hope she’s alright. She’s gotta be. It’s Amy._

When Amy was offered an undercover assignment in Denver, Jake knew he had to let her go. Not that he had any sort of right to claim that she’d stay. At the time, Amy barely allowed herself the time to celebrate this opportunity before she realized that they’d be separated for six months, and so she had turned around and given him _the look_.

When they initially started going out, they both agreed that it wouldn’t jeopardize their careers in any way. So without thinking twice, Jake mustered up a smile and congratulated her on what was the best thing that ever happened to her. “-in my career.” She corrected him, giving him a sheepish smile before planting a kiss on his lips.

He wasn’t bothered with the fact that he couldn’t be with her physically, he didn’t worry too much about her getting hurt. But since she was undercover, he wasn’t allowed any contact with her at all. Not even the Captain knew if she was alive or anything. If he could just send her a quick text (and he’d get a long reply in which Amy corrected his improper use of punctuation), he’d be happy.

A loud noise coming from his kitchen pulled him back from his thoughts. From the sound of it, it must be a couple of pans falling to the ground. He heard a woman yell in Spanish, words that were clearly not meant to be heard by children. He chuckled, just careful enough not to make his stomach move too much in the process.

 _I should see if I can get to the kitchen. I’m hungry anyway._ He moved his legs from under the covers and placed his bare feet on the ground, concentrating on establishing enough support before he would push himself up. He inhaled sharply, mentally preparing himself for the pain that would inevitably come.

Sure enough, he felt like someone thrust a knife into his stomach and he promptly realized that it caught him off guard so much, his left foot lost its grip and slipped. Unable to grasp something for support, his body crashed through the ground and he couldn’t help but scream in agony. The sheer anguish of it all made his vision blur and for a moment, he was utterly incapable of moving any of his limbs, almost as if his body was shutting off to protect itself from the pain.

He heard a voice call out, and his disoriented brain decoded it as his name seconds after the person yelled it. He felt a pair of cold hands on his bare shoulders. “What are you doing out of bed?” It took all of his concentrated to focus, but he was glad to note that the pain was slowly ebbing away. The person turned his body around and his eyes met a pair of concerned brown ones, and he couldn’t resist the smile that crept up on his face.

She looked exactly like the woman he loved. It made him miss her a little less.

“Why are you smiling?” The woman in question was Maria Santiago. Yes, this was Amy’s mother, and she clearly had to fight an incredible urge to smack an already injured man. “You got shot, you shouldn’t be smiling.” It was as simple as that to her.

Three weeks ago, Jake got shot. It wasn’t even in a cool way like he dreamed of when he was a little boy, or pretty much any time he watches Die Hard. Nope, it was pretty much just another case of being at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

He was walking around the Brooklyn neighborhood some time during the night, when the amount of pedestrians could be counted on one hand and all of them had a desire to arrive at their destination quickly. Especially the blonde woman walking in front of him, he had noticed. She looked a little paranoid, checking over her shoulder frantically, then increasing her pace. Jake was about to jog up to her and ask her if she needed any help – he was an NYPD detective anyway, perhaps she'd feel safer with him – when a man suddenly emerged from a dark alley. He was too far for Jake to be able to hear what he was saying, but the fact that the woman screamed, turned around and bolted back into the direction she just came from, was enough for him to realize something was horribly wrong. He was about to pull out his own gun when the man raised his weapon, firing at the fleeing victim. The bang seemed to echo through the empty street and it was almost like time slowed down. Jake jerked his head in the woman’s direction. She was still on her feet and seemed unharmed and when his own body started to cripple, it dawned on him that the bullet had missed its target and struck him, instead.

He blinked rapidly, forcing the memory away from him. “I’m smiling because you remind me of Amy.” He told her truthfully.

Maria seemed to blush a little and smiled. “Well, that makes sense because I am her mother. Can you sit up?” She helped him position his body against the side of his bed where he could rest for a while.

After he got shot, Jake was in a coma for a few days. When he finally woke up, Terry happened to be in the room, who informed him about his visitors. His mother was on a trip to Europe at the time, but was informed about the situation. They were unable to contact his father. “Figures,” he thought at the time. He kept that thought to himself.

Charles, who Jake expected was the one who visited the most, had only been to the hospital three times. Terry told him that he cried all three times and just couldn’t come anymore. Captain Holt visited several times as well, once even with Kevin. As Terry was telling this, Jake noticed an amused smirk on his face. “Kevin even had to wipe away a few tears the first time he came. But don’t tease him about it, I’m sure he’ll deny it.”

Gina was the one responsible for the many colorful balloons in his room. According to Terry, it was her attempt to liven up the place before Jake would wake up. She insisted that he would be fine and would not hear anything else about it. She even punched Charles in the gut once for mentioning that there was a chance it might not be fine.

Rosa visited too, of course. Terry didn’t know much about what her visits were like. But according to Marcus, who went with her a few times, she’d sit next to his bed and just stare at him, almost as if trying to determine if any of this was real, like maybe it was all just a prank. She eventually accepted the fact that it wasn't, and this was the reality of life. Once, Marcus left the room for a few minutes to get coffee, and when he came back, he overheard her speaking to him. He couldn’t make out what she said, but the tone of her voice indicated that it must’ve been hard for her to say.

“You mean a lot to everyone here, Jake,” Terry concluded his recap, “I’m glad you’re back with us.”

Jake had nodded his head at that, feeling like something – better yet, someone – was missing. He inquired about Amy, and Terry responded that she wasn’t aware of his situation. Informing her about him was sure to have an emotional impact on her and they couldn’t risk compromising her mission. It was understandable, and Jake was about to pry for more information about the progress of the case when a familiar face entered the room. It was Maria.

Terry’s body seemed to jolt into action at that, just like that one time Jake snapped his fingers and said ‘aha’ to Rosa. While Maria was frozen near the door, her mouth open with surprise to see him awake, Terry told him that she had been here more than anyone else.

Later that day, when Terry was long gone and the darkness of the evening swept over the hospital rooms, Maria was wordlessly adjusting his pillow when Jake asked her why she was there. She didn’t say anything for what seemed like an eternity, then just told him, “My daughter loves you. And I love you.”

After he woke up from his coma, Jake slowly started to recover from his wounds. At one point, the doctor presented him with a choice. He could either go back home under someone’s supervision, or he could stay at the hospital.

Jake was never a fan of the hospital. Sure, this was a place where incredibly brilliant minds worked their asses off to save lives, and this was a place where lives begun, but this was also a place where unfortunately, many people died. So he jumped at the chance of going back home, ignoring the part where the doctor insisted that someone needed to look after him 24/7. After some arguing, the doctor (with the help of two nurses who were present at the time), convinced him that it would be unwise to spend his time home alone and that he’d have to stay at the hospital for at least another two weeks.

He could talk himself out of many situations, but he also knew when he was defeated. So he just fell silent with a dejected face and continued to pout throughout the rest of the day, until the doctor later re-emerged with a peculiar look on his face. “I have some good news for you, Mr. Peralta,” he had announced, almost as if he was about to say that he was about to be freed from all of his pain within a few seconds. “I’m discharging you from the hospital.”

Jake was about to erupt into celebration (as much as he could in his condition) when the doctor interrupted him by holding up his hand. “But only if you agree to be looked after.”

Jake felt his heart sink at that, knowing that Boyle couldn’t muster it up to take care of him, even if he tried. Everyone had jobs to do and they couldn’t just take (at least) a month off. Then, pretty much like a human guardian angel, Maria stepped into the room and told him that she had discussed it with the doctor and she would spend a month at his place. She didn’t allow any of Jake’s protests (“your husband will miss you”) and simply stated that she was doing what her daughter would’ve done.

“Jake?”

He was startled out of his thoughts and back into the reality that was his body on the cold floor and his back against the side of his bed. Maria was crouched next to him, her worried expression thickening the wrinkles on her face. “Are you feeling better now?”

He nodded his head slowly. “Yeah. Can you please help me up?”

“Are you sure? You should be getting back to bed.”

“Please, Mrs. Santia-“

She shushed him instantly. “How many times do I have to tell you, Jake? Call me Maria.”

“Okay,” he started hesitantly, “Maria… I don’t want to go back to bed. I feel like I’ve been in that thing for two months. Plus, I’m hungry.” He was very aware of the fact that his groggy voice made him sound whiny like a sick seven year old boy, but he _was_ technically sick, and he was too tired to try and hide it. On top of that, he was also very aware of the fact that Maria (much like Amy) also found it increasingly difficult to deny him anything if he just used the right tone of voice, tilted his head and widened his eyes slightly.

Having her around was actually more fun that Jake initially thought. He challenged himself by trying to uncover some fun facts about Amy life as a child, and even convinced Maria to bring some old photos. Well actually, he didn’t convince her, per say, Maria loved Amy unconditionally and took pretty much any excuse to talk about her daughter.

“I really think we should try to contact Amy.” Maria said later, after she helped him sit on the couch in his living room. She was – of course – unaware of Amy’s precise whereabouts. She had been told that Amy went off to a safari in Africa, something she didn't endorse when Jake added that he was going to stay in Brooklyn.

“I told you,” Jake shifted nervously on the couch, and he prayed that Maria wouldn’t notice his anxiety. “She’s on a safari in Africa. She doesn’t have any phone reception where she is. She’ll probably call me as soon as she can, I’ll tell her then.”

“Well alright,” Maria sighed, even though she didn’t seem to buy it. “I’m going to make you some soup.” And with that, she disappeared back into kitchen. He heard the clatter of her picking up the pots she’d dropped earlier.

 _Amy is going to freak out when she hears about this._ A feeling of dread washed over him as he thought about reuniting with Amy after such a long time. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so proud of you. Also, I got shot and was in a coma for five days. Welcome home!” The words seemed to mock him in his head. _Well, it’s only logical I can’t tell her right now. If I do, she’s going to freak out and blow her cover. She could die. No way I’m letting that happen. Even if she does end up being mad at me for a while. I’d rather have her be mad at me than her be…_ A chill ran over his spine. He didn’t want to put her name and any word similar to ‘death’ in the same sentence again.

She would come back to him. He knew she would.

Even if she did find herself in a tough spot, she'd fight just as hard as he did when he was in the hospital (without her).


	2. Chapter 2

_Nine months into the future…_

* * *

“I need to talk to you, and I need everyone to be there. I need to ask you all something.”

When Maria received the call, there was a seriousness in Jake’s voice she wasn’t familiar with. He wouldn’t say anything else about it, just insisted that he need to see her, Luis, and all of Amy’s brothers at once.

“Hi Jake,” Maria greeted warmly as she opened her door. He was standing in her doorway, but Amy was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Amy?”

“She’s not coming.” Jake was usually polite enough to wait for Maria to let him in, but he seemed antsy tonight and simply stepped forward, making her move aside for him. “Is everyone here?”

“Just like you asked,” Maria closed the door behind him. She had a hunch, but she wouldn’t say anything about it before he was ready. “Just go to the living room.” She pushed him towards the door before he could take his shoes off.

By this time, enough time has passed for everyone to get rid of their wariness of Jake, and so when he entered the room, it burst into a tangled mess of excited greetings.

“I’m not gonna waste too much time because I’m _hella_ nervous,” Jake said, not even bothering to wait for everyone to go quiet. He had an odd accent in his voice that could only indicate that he was extremely nervous. Amy once mentioned how Jake tends to slip into foreign accents when he’s about to talk about something he’s uncomfortable with. “You’re all here because you really love Amy.” His eyes darted over the room as everyone simply nodded. “So I’m here, to ask you – people who love Amy – if someone who loves Amy…” His words trailed and he grimaced for a second.

He seemed to realize he wouldn’t be able to bring up the words, so instead, he opted to reach into his pocket and revealed a little box. Maria brought her hand to her mouth and nearly stopped the words “ _Dios mío_ ” to escape from her mouth. But they did, and tears formed in her eyes. Luis just held her silently.

“You’re asking us all… for permission?” Luis asked, his voice monotonous. Nobody else in the room spoke another word, and Jake felt too terrified to try and look any of Amy’s brothers in the eye. Maria was too emotional, so it was the stoic Luis who felt like the safest option.

“S- someone who loves Amy…” His words awkwardly stumbled from his lips and were barely audible.

Luis just turned his head, giving each of his sons a chance to (non-verbally) share their opinion. After two tense minutes of sheer silence, Luis released the grip on his wife and stood up. He nodded.

“Yes?”

Luis just nodded again, though this time, with a small smile on his lips.

“Oh, that is great!” Jake cheered and held out his hand, but Luis scoffed at it and pulled him into a hug.

The rest of the family followed suit. Most of them gave him brief hugs like Luis did, though Amy’s older brother Ramon decided on a firm pat on the shoulder and Mario – well, Fabián – tricked Jake into a handshake which he then fluently changed into a hug. Maria still couldn’t formulate the words to express what she felt like, but Jake knew that she was more than just happy. He knew it because she hugged him with such intensity that he could barely breathe and he felt his shirt get wet from her tears. He was grateful for Luis who eventually peeled his wife off of him.

“You… do realize the person I was talking about was _me_ , right?” Jake said later that night, because Maria insisted that he’d stay for dinner. It was partially a joke, but also not really, because he was starting to think about how he would propose and he was starting to get kind of paranoid. Just a little bit.

Luis just shook his head and raised his glass. “Welcome to the family, Jake.”

He said the exact same thing Maria said when he first met the Santiagos, but this time, it had a completely different meaning.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be doing a lot of shifting back and forth in time in an attempt to balance drama with some more light-hearted stuff. I hope it's understandable for you, lol. Oh, and if you dig Jake/Amy or B99 just as much as I do, feel free to chat me up on Tumblr. I go by jakepurralta on there as well. I'll try and get one of my stories updated soon-ish. Cheers!


End file.
